Electric Guitars Les Paul for blues ?

PeterSchroeder

Munich, Germany
Pan flute aside, tonight I will check the Les Paul. Now I found out that the seller also got an amp for sale, it is a Marshall MG30CFX. I currently use a Fender Mustang I v2. Does anyone use the Marshall ? Any thoughts which one (the fender ot the marshall) would be the better choice ?
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
Depends on the sound you are looking for. TH fender will give you a nice bluesy sound. The Marshall can probably be tweaked to get that too, but the Marshall is more of a rock amp (My 2 Cents...YMMV).
 

Al Holloway

Devizes UK
I would say not much difference. Marshall 30W modelling amp with 10" speaker. Fender 20w modelling amp with 8" speaker. If you didn't already have one of them I would go for the Marshall mainly due to the bigger speaker. However as you have the Fender I wouldn't expect much of an upgrade so I would save my money. Having said that I haven't played either one.

cheers

Al.
 

Danno

Blues Newbie
I can't be sure, but I seem to remember the MG Marshall amps as being relatively higher gain than the Fenders. I could be way off but I'm not sure what kind of clean/slight crunch you can get with the Marshall.
 

PeterSchroeder

Munich, Germany
Well back now without the guitar. It was in a sad state. Crappy strings of different sets, very high Action and most of all the Pickup switch was kind of broken. No contact at all in middle position, kinky contact in lower position. The seller will take it to a guitar shop to have it checked. If they can fix it easily we still got a deal because it is a real beauty.

The amp is also not in a good state, clean channel not working, might be a wonky switch. And it is huge ! I will stick to my Fender Mustang, save the money for later (cough*tube amp*cough).
 

Slofinger

Blues Junior
Monoprice.com has 15watt tube amp with reverb for $249. They quite often go on sale too. I have their 5watt tube amp I keep out in my shop and it sounds amazing for $99 I think I paid for it at the time. I think several members here have the 15watt version.
 

Rad

Blues Newbie
Did I read correctly, you started playing this year? If that is the case I would not sell or trade a guitar just yet chasing tone. I would take the guitar money you have and take lessons from a good teacher along with being here.

Then again, if I read wrong and you are not a new player, please ignore me. Of course you are free to do so as a new player also:D
 

PeterSchroeder

Munich, Germany
Did I read correctly, you started playing this year? If that is the case I would not sell or trade a guitar just yet chasing tone. I would take the guitar money you have and take lessons from a good teacher along with being here.

Then again, if I read wrong and you are not a new player, please ignore me. Of course you are free to do so as a new player also:D
You read correctly, but for me it is not the tone (at least not alone) I am chasing. It is more about feeling. My SG simply doesn´t feel "right". The Les Paul I had the chance to play felt a lot better. Being a beginner I will not invest in an expensive guitar, but the LP I checked yesterday is in a reasonable price range. Fortunately I don´t have to think twice about every penny I spend as long as I don´t exaggerate. On the other hand, time is very limited. Not only the years I still got, but also the minutes I can free up every day for hobbies. So I´d like to spend this little time to have as much fun as possible, and playing a nice, well balanced and good sounding guitar or riding a better-than-average bike is more fun than fighting with shortcomings I can avoid.

As for lessons - limited time kind of makes taking regular lessons impossible. I can do the online stuff whenever the opportunity comes up, and half an hour each day is easy to sort out (on most days at least). Every now and then I meet a guy who is checking my progress and points out problems or weaknesses I have to work on.
 

Rad

Blues Newbie
You read correctly, but for me it is not the tone (at least not alone) I am chasing. It is more about feeling. My SG simply doesn´t feel "right". The Les Paul I had the chance to play felt a lot better. Being a beginner I will not invest in an expensive guitar, but the LP I checked yesterday is in a reasonable price range. Fortunately I don´t have to think twice about every penny I spend as long as I don´t exaggerate. On the other hand, time is very limited. Not only the years I still got, but also the minutes I can free up every day for hobbies. So I´d like to spend this little time to have as much fun as possible, and playing a nice, well balanced and good sounding guitar or riding a better-than-average bike is more fun than fighting with shortcomings I can avoid.

As for lessons - limited time kind of makes taking regular lessons impossible. I can do the online stuff whenever the opportunity comes up, and half an hour each day is easy to sort out (on most days at least). Every now and then I meet a guy who is checking my progress and points out problems or weaknesses I have to work on.


Les Pauls are nice, their only real shortcoming is how heavy they are. They usually have a bit thicker neck than the SG. I think you will like the LP.
 
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cowboy

Blues, Booze & BBQ
Les Pauls are great for playing the blues. Get one. A strat with a humbucker will not sound like a shorter scale Les Paul. Sell off the SG if you need to, (to keep the peace) or keep it if you can.

I agree with straightblues on this one....get the LP, keep the strat and also the SG, if you can...

I've got strats, Epiphones, Gibson and teles plus a couple of "extras"...

if you want the LP sound, nothing will beat the Gibson...that being said, the Epi's come very close...I've got an Epi JB goldtop that matches up with my Gibsons just fine...but I'm still in love with the Gibson Class 57' pickups on the Gibby...the Epi has Burstbuckers 2 & 3...all three of my Epi's are keepers...I believe I've played the model you are looking at and it was very, very sweet...(y)(y)(y)...

I'd keep the strat and experiment with the pickup height a bit...it can make all the difference in the world...or switch them out...strats are unique in themselves...

BUT if I had to choose just ONE guitar to cover everything, it would be my POS tele...but that's another story...

good luck with your decision...in the end, it still come down to the player...later.

cowboy
 

PeterSchroeder

Munich, Germany
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ENLPHBNH. I have considering an Epi LP Standard Plustop Pro. I tried one out at local music store and it felt and sounded pretty good.
That´s exactly the one except the colour - the one I had a look at is vintage cherry sunburst. It´s now at a guitar shop to get the faulty switch fixed (seems like a shot of deoxid couldn´t do the job). Have to wait about three weeks and suppress my GAS....

...if you want the LP sound, nothing will beat the Gibson...that being said, the Epi's come very close......I believe I've played the model you are looking at and it was very, very sweet...(y)(y)(y)...
If I were a much better player AND had a lot of money for free use, I´d go for a Gibson, but even the cheapest Gibson I could get here cost three times as much as the Epi, and we are talking about Studio Tribute series and not Classics or Standards...

BUT if I had to choose just ONE guitar to cover everything, it would be my POS tele...but that's another story...
to be honest, I never had a closer look at teles, I don´t know why but I´ve always been more attracted by humbucker equipped guitars. Might have to test one ...
 

matonanjin

Chubby, old guy trying to play some blues.
to be honest, I never had a closer look at teles, I don´t know why but I´ve always been more attracted by humbucker equipped guitars. Might have to test one ...
And I don't know why either. I probably have just about as bad of case of GAS as anybody on the planet. I spend why too much type shopping when I should be practicing. I am right now deciding between a couple different PRS guitars and, of course, using all the canned rationalization cliches. "This one is going to give me a lot of versatility.", etc.

And yet I don't look at Teles. In all the lists by gurus about the different "classes" of guitars one needs, the different "food groups" if you will, the Tele is right there along with the obligatory Strat, LP, 335, acoustic, etc. And blues icons that I respect like Robben Ford and Joanne Shaw Taylor call their Tele their #1. And one of the guys I jam with every Wednesday calls his Tele his favorite and keeps telling me to get one. And he keeps offering me to take his and play it for a week between jams.

And yet.......I can't develop any GAS for a Tele. Would someone please tell me why this is?
 

Al Holloway

Devizes UK
If you don't mind me saying I believe your tag line gives you the answer "Chubby, old guy trying to play some blues." Now the tele has no cut-away. However I believe the G&L Tshapes do. Maybe this could increase your gas.:rolleyes:
I hope I didn't offend you. I only know the issue from personal experience:oops:

cheers

Al.
 
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